Review: Happy Diving | Big World

San Francisco sludge-pop upstarts Happy Diving first breeched our radar at the onset of the year via a digital/cassette EP, but the East Bay act is poised to decisively put its stamp on 2014 with an ear-pleasing, skull-pounding full-length debut titled Big World. Due Nov. 4, the record bears all of the hallmarks of a contemporary classic indie release: recorded quickly (two days); with a hot shot up-and-coming producer (Jack Shirley of Deafheaven, Joyce Manor and Whirr fame); backed by a rising area imprint (Father/Daughter Records). Oh, it also rocks.

As with the likely incessant humming inside producer/The Cars guy Ric Ocasek's head, Happy Diving brings the fuzz. Indeed, Big World channels Ocasek-produced touchstones like Weezer's thrilling blue album and Nada Surf's High/Low -- and, to a lesser extent perhaps, Bad Brains' Rock For Light -- into aggressive punk rock forms. With each pummeling chorus, grit and dirt shudders loose from Happy Diving's sustained, high-output sound like the dessicated refuse from sonic flypaper faced with a strong breeze. And so thick rhythm guitars establish a formidable aural wall along the length of Big World. It's perhaps the most pronounced element substantiating the Weezer comparison (although the band's occasional third guitarist is clearly a big fan), although Happy Diving's melodic sense is fairly keen as well. Even so, the constant clipping and in-the-red tones of songs including "Mikey's Rules" and "Weird Dream," all the searing feedback and sustain, evoke something ultimately darker and more dejected than Rivers Cuomo's adolescent observations. Big World highlight "Space Ooze" follows this model, economizing its down-stroked chords to create a compact punk bruiser with thrilling single-note bends, a quick verse, a sore-and-subtle harmonic "oohing" bridge and a slapdash guitar solo. The tune's breakneck pace implies a sense of danger, leading the song somewhere substantially more troubled. In this context, and especially when taking into account the album art, the album title is less optimistic than it is anxious.

Fronter and guitarist Matt Berry's resigned singing does much to establish the disaffected mood of Big World. Mr. Berry's smooth yet sour pipes evoke the characteristic confusions and frustrations of 20-somethings, specifically that state of feeling one way while being pressured to present another. And so Berry's singing injects another dimension to the sweeter melodies of the more pop-oriented "Sad Planet," and imbues much of Big World with greater emotional depth than a superficial read of its songs might otherwise note. Still, song titles like "Always Noon," "Whatever" and the aforementioned quirky, sci-fi referencing duo "Sad Planet" and "Space Ooze," evidence that Happy Diving don't take all of this rock 'n' roll business too, too seriously. So as the listener can imagine the year-old foursome running through its repertoire in a dimly-lit basement -- pissed off and disenchanted with the world, perhaps -- she or he can still also imagine Berry and co. still goofing off and having fun.

Big World will be released by Father/Daughter Nov. 4. Said release is being celebrated with a release party tomorrow night in Oakland, Calif. at 1234 Records; the show includes Fish Breath, LVL Up and Big Ups. The album is available as a digital download as well as a limited edition vinyl 12" pressed to oxblood, oxblood and baby blue splatter, or classic black media, and it appears there are only 100 pieces of each, so be sure to pre-order one while they last via the band's Bandcamp right here. The entirely un-eff-withable Art Is Hard label will release a cassette version of Big World in the UK Nov. 3; there are only 100 of those available. Stream three tracks from the record via the embeds below. -- Edward Charlton

Happy Diving: Bandcamp | Facebook

Today's Hotness: Barry Marino, Big Deal, Business Models

>> While Managing Editor Michael P. continues to manage SXSW, the everyday business of the blog goes on... This Today's Hotness is brought to you by the letter "B," in alphabetical order, sorta...

>> For the second year running, multi-instrumentalist and video director extraordinaire Barry Marino (who is perhaps best known to Clicky Clicky readers as drummer for Boston indie rock heroes The Hush Now) wrote and recorded an entire album during the month of February. This year's effort culminated with the release last week of the sparkling and curious eight-song collection February 2.0. Apparently the exercise is a bit more formalized than we had realized previously, as Mr. Marino's impressive feat is part of something called RPM Challenge, an event that encourages participants to record in a mere 28 days either 10 songs or 35 minutes of original material. Like his solid 2012 collection I Made These Gems In A Month, the new set strikes a balance between serene folk, hazy contemplation and upbeat electronic experimentalism, suggesting influences like Mazzy Star and U2 along the way. Up-tempo highlights "Level Planes" and the not entirely reassuring "We're Not Going To Guam" employ dance-ready rhythm tracks to anchor surreal, at-times-unsettling sentiments (the latter tune includes the brilliant line "half the stuff he says goes way over my head, the other half goes way, way over"). "The Subway Ninjas," a song apparently about being stuck on the subway with a jerk, a song that Google Translate improbably indicates is sung in Esperanto, uses bright guitar leads and a female guest vocal to conjure a breezy, South American vibe. Closer "White Knuckle" quietly echoes the verse of the aforementioned Irish quartet's "Ultra Violet." February 2.0, as well as the rest of Brooklyn-based Marino's work within and without The Hush Now, routinely finds ways to impress without being flashy or pedantic. Instead, there is a patience and ease to the music that somewhat downplays the cleverness and lucid imagery that are Marino's true hallmarks, all of which makes February 2.0 well worth your time and attention. We most recently heard from Marino in late 2012, when he sang the lead vocal for The Hush Now's annual holiday single (Marino also shot and starred in this video for the tune). In related news, The Hush Now is preparing the release of "Arkansas" as a digital single in the UK, to be followed by a digital UK release of the quintet's superlative 2011 long-player Memos. Incidentally, Marino is not the only member of the quintet releasing solo music these days: lead guitarist Adam Quane issued Tuesday a new collection of vibrant, textured psychedelia called O Orpheus Singing under his long-running No Evil Star moniker. You can check that out here; in the meantime tuck into Marino's February 2.0 via the Bandcamp embed below.



>> Big Deal announced last week it will release April 23 "In Your Car," the first proper single from the London-based dream-pop pair's planned sophomore set June Gloom. The captivating track maintains the act's new, noisy posture established via the early album two preview tune "Teradactol" last year. However, "In Your Car" ably harnesses the volume and attitude of "Teradactol" but successfully channels it into Big Deal's melodic and characteristically poignant pop. Indeed, the breezy, wistful chorus ("driving in your car / I wanna be wherever you are...") fits comfortably within the band's canon, particularly the music from Big Deal's brilliant full-length debut Lights Out. And perhaps it is just the title suggesting the correlation, perhaps it is the jarring opening notes, or perhaps it is the sweeping synth in the chorus, but we sense the second single also throws an affirmative nod toward Boston's own '80s pop legends The Cars and their tune "Just What I Needed." Sure, it's a fairly jarring evolution from the quiet, pretty harmonies and delicate guitar work of the band's debut single "Homework" from a few years ago, but those harmonies and Big Deal's deft ability to sound like it is constantly telling secrets persists even with the duo's contemporary "big band" sound. Mute will release "In Your Car" as well as the aforementioned full-length; June Gloom is slated for release June 4. As we reported here last month, Big Deal principals Alice Costelloe and Kacey Underwood have buttressed Big Deal's personnel with the addition of a rhythm section, which -- for the album sessions anyway -- included drummer Melissa Rigby. It's unclear who is playing bass with the band, or whether Ms. Rigby is part of Big Deal's touring unit, but we expect all of this will be revealed in time, as the presser announcing the single promises live dates will be announced soon. In the meantime, why not stream "In Your Car" over and over and over again as we have been doing?



>> Mr. Charlton was not overstating it during his assessment of the new Purling Hiss tune when he referred to a "strong wave of municipal all-stars" rising up out of Philadelphia these days. Indeed, the mental laundry list we maintain of Philly acts we need to monitor grows almost daily. At the top of the list today is Business Models, the new endeavor from ex-Algernon Cadwallader bassist and fronter Peter Helmis that also counts among its number former members of Ape Up! (Nick) and Man Without Plan (Barclay). The self-described "post-pop-punk" trio has released to Bandcamp under the title Room preliminary mixes of four songs from a "forthcoming bunch of songs." The music maintains the melodicism and energy of Algernon Cadwallader, but eschews that band's intricate guitar work in favor of chunky guitar chords. The resulting tunes recall the city's best West Philly-styled punk and brings to mind in particular Clicky Clicky faves Armalite, whose self-titled 2006 set was among this blog's favorite of that year. We strongly suggest streaming Room via the Bandcamp embed below -- it is all killer and no filler. The trio played some tour dates in Boston and Amherst earlier this month, so we expect that might be the last we see of Business Models until a record comes out, but who knows. Here's a video of them playing "The Aptitude," one of the four jams from Room.

Footage: Future Carnivores' "What's Unbelievable"

We keep watching this video: it's got drama, it's got understated humor, and it's for a great song we listened to a lot this year. And this is a pretty "old dude" thing to say, but most of all, it makes us miss the golden age of MTV, when there were videos like this, and this, and this. Stuff that was fun, quirky, and incorporated the band, hopefully performing, maybe not. Future Carnivore's terrific clip is akin to the sort of televisual stuff we gorged ourselves on heavily from about 1981 (starting with HBO's "Video Jukebox") until we hit driving age in 1990. "What's Unbelievable" is a highlight of the band's very strong self-titled set ("a delicious anomaly that listeners will return to again and again"), which was released early this year and which we reviewed right here. The video for the tune was directed by Future Carnivores/Guillermo Sexo guitarist Reuben Bettsak and features performances by Ryan Lee Crosby, Mariam Saleh of the very hotly tipped Fat Creeps and Alana Sacks of Poor Everybodys. After you've gotten your fill of the clip for "What's Unbelievable," click through those other videos we linked at the top of the piece and note some similarities: apparently some aspects of great video making never change.

Future Carnivores: Internerds | Facebook | Bandcamp

YouTube Rodeo: Assembly Now's "Graphs, Maps & Trees"

We've been saddled with a Tuesday deadline for a week's worth of work at the day job, so things are going to quiet here for a while, with the exception of some action over the weekend perhaps. In the meantime, check out this new video for London quartet Assembly Now's forthcoming single, "Graphs, Maps & Trees," which is released in the UK on Kids Aug. 6. The video seems to be a sort of trippy homage to the weirder MTV videos of the early '80s. Think Duran Duran's earlier clips, or maybe Greg Kihn's. Or The Cars' video with the cartoon fly, "You Might Think." "Graphs, Maps & Trees" is Ass Now's third single. You can download MP3s of the first two, which are barn burners, at the band's web site here. Well, it appears the band has revamped its web site, so those singles aren't there anymore. How about this XFM session we recently posted? Oh, and we just found the links to the MP3s of the first two singles -- they are at the band's MySpace shack right here and at the bottom of the left column. Among other things, we previously featured Assembly Now in Show Us Yours #6 in March.